Crochet Puff
In a KNUTshell
- Baby Puffs are approx. 5x5x7cm, Adults are 8x8x9cm, Giants are 11x11x12cm.
- The blush pink puff is crocheted in Sirdar 'Alpine' yarn. The pastel pink, bright pink, blue-green & yellow puffs are made with Scheepjes 'furry tales' yarn. Both yarns are vegan. Their heads/ears/paws are crocheted in White DK yarn.
- Their metallic eyes are hand-painted and attached with safety backs.
- They have been lightly brushed to make them extra soft and fluffy.
- Each Pygmy Puffs comes with a custom book-page badge, as seen in photos.
- They are stuffed with eco-friendly cotton fibre fill.
- Crochet beasties are made to order, so please allow 4-6 weeks from the point of adoption, before they will be ready to fly free.
- While all my beasties are made with love and care, they are not CE-tested, so are not intended as toys for young children.
The Backstory
Welcome to PYGMY PUFF PLANET! Pixar can keep their pizza, because you will not find a fluffier friend on all planet earth (except perhaps the Nifflers...) Who doesn't love a pygmy puff? I know I do, but the reasons for this are not purely aesthetic. They hold a deeply personal meaning for me in why I originally made them.
As I share in my Small Business Story, I began crocheting during one of the darkest periods of my life - while receiving treatment for my mental health - and decided to crochet a Pygmy Puff as a stress ball/ mealtime companion. Several fellow patients fell in love with them, not just for their cute appearance but also their sensory qualities, so I quickly created a whole Poffle.
They are the undisputed 'star' beastie here at Bumble and Be HQ, with nearly 200 pygmy puffs now flying free on 4 continents! Come on Penguins, can we make it 5?
The Design Story
For all the sensory reasons I mentioned above, the most important design detail for my Pygmy Puffs was finding the PAWfect yarn. I didn't just want fluffy yarn, I wanted proper faux fur that feels like you're stroking a kitten or puppy (with no kittens or puppies ever harmed, as all my yarn is vegan!)
I currently use two different brands, which are very similar in texture but offer different colours. The Sirdar 'Alpine' yarn is my choice for more natural, muted tones, and brought to life our first ever Faux Fur Puff, Lady English Rose. My beloved Scheepjes 'Furry Tales' is the magic behind our other three puffs, Pastel Peony, Sweetpea and Buttercup. I named them all after flowers, as a daily reminder that we can always bloom and grow.. This was again drawn from my own personal reasons for bringing them to life back in 2017, to support mental health recovery.
I decided to keep the same white yarn for all their faces, regardless of the body colour, and this yarn was specially chosen for its anti-pilling qualities, so the stitches remain crisp and defined even as the puffs 'grow up'! I use the same yarn regardless of the size of the puff and simply add/remove individual strands. This may sound a bit 'extra', but it ensures that I maintain uniformity among the sizes.
Finally, onto the smaller design details that - for me - make all the difference:
- As with my other beasties, I hand-paint all my pygmy puff eyes with sparkly nail polish by Barry M (a certified cruelty-free brand). I use a range of colours, from 'Pink Luxe' to 'Blue Glacier', and it truly brings them to life in such a magical way.
- I use DMC embroidery thread for the little button noses and weave a strand of faux fur yarn through the middle of each ear to finish them off. These final steps truly finish them off so nicely and always make my soul smile.
Your Story
As with all other Spew Crew beasties, each pygmy puff is handmade to my own pattern, so is 100% exclusive to Bumble and Be. As they are made-to-order, it means that no two will be quite the same, but I like to think that is part of their magic - just like an Ollivander wand!
Puffkseins come in two sizes (baby and adult) and four colours - English Rose (blush pink), Pastel Peony (pale pink), Sweetpea (blue-green) and Buttercup (Yellow). Their eyes can be either sparkly pink, purple or blue, eyes, and their noses likewise. The choice is whatever your heart desires.
Every single Pygmy Puff adopted will also come with their own exclusive adoption card and "beastie book badge", which I make from the secondhand pages of Harry Potter books. Before your beastie flies off to you, I will ask if you have a name in mind and - if so - put this onto the adoption card. On that note, this name will often form the basis for the book badge too; for example, past customers have called Pygmy Puffs Poppy and Pomona, so I have chosen passages with these names included!
MY BEASTIES are inspired by the Wizarding World, but have no affiliation with JK Rowling/Warner Brothers.